


An Unlikely Pair

by nchorsemama



Category: Joshua Mikel as Jared, Lauren Cohan as Maggie Rhee, The Walking Dead, The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Bonding, F/M, Forgiveness, Hate, Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-07
Updated: 2020-01-07
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:33:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22160356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nchorsemama/pseuds/nchorsemama
Summary: This is a story I wrote for a challenge. The was to pair up an unlikely pair from the walking dead and make you root for them. So...here's my duo. Let me know if I was able to make you root for them. I chose one of my favorite and one I hated and put them together to see if I could actually do it.PS...I love Joshua Mikel but hated Jared. lol
Relationships: Jared - Relationship, Maggie - Relationship
Kudos: 1





	An Unlikely Pair

**Author's Note:**

> This is a story I wrote for a challenge. The was to pair up an unlikely pair from the walking dead and make you root for them. So...here's my duo. Let me know if I was able to make you root for them. I chose one of my favorite and one I hated and put them together to see if I could actually do it.  
> PS...I love Joshua Mikel but hated Jared. lol

An Unlikely Pair

“But pa!! It’s my birthday! Ya promised I could have a hunt of ma very own.” Bubba who was 14 today, complained. His brother Cooter cuffed him on the side of his head causing him to fly sideways and onto the ground holding his now sore ear. His face was beat red as he jumped to his feet and tried to tackle his brother who was 4 years older than him.  
“Shut up runt! You ain’t good enough to hunt on yer own.”

“Am too!” He tried again, only for his brother to step aside at the very last second, causing him to hit the dirt hard.

“Ya just wait Cooter I’ll gitcha!”

“Knock it off the two of ya! Or ya be picking out yer switches and I be taking ya out to the woodshed!”

“Bubba’s right, ye all had yer turn when ya lived to be 14.”

“Pa….where we gonna find real people? Aint no one left up here?”

“Go git Rosco and Rufus! Were goin down the mountain, boys.”

“What about Zadie, pa?”

“Take er on over to uncle Otis to stay a spell. Tell em were goin huntin’.”

“Maggie.” Jesus tried again.

“Stop! Jesus you’re not going to talk me out of this. They said I had to be the one to make the exchange. Three of theirs, for three of ours.”

“Maggie, I think it’s a trap, at least let me be your driver.”

“No Jesus, I need you here in case it is a trap. Gregory is worthless. I need you to stand in for me.”

“Maggie, please reconci….”

“Will you do this for me or not?” Maggie raised her voice which was very rare. His shoulders slumped knowing she wasn’t going to give in, in this particular situation.

“Yes Maggie, I will.” He said softly.

“Thank you, Jesus, I will take every precaution I can, I give you my word. I want our people back.” She laid a hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze. He pulled her into his arms and hugged her tight. Maggie was a great leader of The Hilltop community, he didn’t want to lose her.

“Yo Widow! How long you plan on starving us? You know it’s only a matter of time before you and all your people starve too, right? I’m just counting the days, just counting the days. Too bad that baby won’t make it. It’s real damn shame…..first your husband and now your baby.” Jared taunted her.

“I want him in that van. I’m tired of his mouth. Pick two more and get me a driver. We leave at dawn. I want them handcuffed. Jared has already escaped ropes once. I don’t want to be dead before I even get there.” Maggie left Jesus, trusting him to do as she asked and left to go back to Barrington house. She hated that Jared was right. They were starving them out.

Maggie was up well before dawn checking her weapons and packing a bag. Jesus had told her that Daniel would be her driver. He was young but he was sweet, and showing great promise as a fighter. Maggie was fine with Jesus’s choice. 

“Pa here comes a van!” Bubba said excitedly. He wanted his hunt. In order to have his hunt he needed prey. 

“Rufus, Rosco! Take out them front tires.” Horace called out.

“Yes pa!” His two oldest sons answered. Two shots rang out and they watched as the van careened down the hill and into the woods slamming into a tree, then flipping end over end further down the hill. They took off on foot down to the wreckage. 

Maggie was navigating the map to get to the exchange site, when she heard 2 shots. Daniel lost control of the van and was trying to correct when they plummeted over the side going through the guardrail and down the hill. Daniel was ejected when they clipped a tree. Maggie who had her seatbelt on, was held inside as the van flipped end over end going the rest of the way down the hill. The three men handcuffed in the back were thrown around like rag dolls.

It was an eerie quiet as Horace and his four sons approached the wreckage. The van laid upon it’s side. They looked through the smashed windshield where Maggie laid still, unbelted and unconscious. They pulled her out and stared down at her.

“Pa, can I keep her? I’m ready fer a wife, and ya know how hard it is ta find one.” 

“Pa, I see people in the back.” Cooter said. 

“Bubba, ya stay here and watch er.” The four men went to the back doors of the van and pried them open.

“This one’s a goner pa.” Roscoe said.

“He’s alive pa!” Rufus said dragging Jared out and throwing him to the ground which elicited a loud groan from him.

“This one’s dead pa.” Cooter said of the third man. 

“Bring em round here with the other one.” Horace told them. They dragged a semiconscious, hand cuffed, Jared around and dropped him beside Maggie. Jared looked through his lashes to see Maggie lying unconscious bleeding from a head wound.

“She be the only one not cuffed check er pockets for the key.” Horace told his sons. Jared watched through his lashes as two men dressed in filthy overalls, ran their hands over Maggie’s body, lingering on her breasts and between her legs, before ever getting near her pockets to look for the key.

“Got it pa!”

“Go git the cuffs off them other two dead ones.” Cooter left to do his father bidding.

“Rufus, Roscoe, git to the truck and one of ya bring the hook down. We need to git em back up the mountain ‘fore someone comes a lookin.”

Jared could feel his hands being uncuffed from behind him then cuffed in front of him. He looked through his lashes to see Maggie’s hands being cuffed in front of her. His cuffed hands were being raised above his head. He then saw Maggie’s hands being raised as well.

“Alright Rosco, start em up!” Horace called out and suddenly he felt them being pulled up the hillside. Maggie laid face down still unconscious. All Jared could think was that she was pregnant being dragged over tree roots, and rocks, and briars. She would be ripped open. He moved his leg and tried to get it beneath hers. Once he got it between hers he lifted her up and tried to put her on top of himself. He felt like his back was being shredded. Once he had her on top of himself he locked his legs around her to hold her in place. He could see that her head was still bleeding and one side of her shirt had been ripped open by the rough terrain. He couldn’t see how hurt she was in his current position. 

Before the world went to shit, he had a sister whom he loved dearly. She been pregnant, only three months but so excited about it. Her and Garret his brother in law had been trying for two years. The whole family couldn’t wait for the new baby to come. He had 4 more younger sisters. Being the older brother of five sisters was a job that took seriously. He’d protect them with his life. And….he’d tried to….he truly did. He and his father had gone out on a routine run for supplies leaving his Mother and five sisters, one being very pregnant at 8 months. He and his father had gotten trapped inside a minute mart overnight when a herd had passed through the town they were in, by the time they made it back home, his Mother, Brother in law, and sisters and his unborn nephew were dead and walking around. He and his Father had to put them down. When his Father went after his Mother…..he couldn’t bring himself to do it and his Mother had taken a bite out of his him. Two days later he’d had to put his Father down too. 

Jared knew that he’d gone a little mad that fateful day, the day he had to put the last surviving member of his family down. He turned into a bitter man who hated the world and what it had become. By the time Negan and his men had found him….he was like a wild animal….a killing machine and he tried to kill them. After being a prisoner for 2 months, Negan gave him a choice….he could become one of them and lead a good, safe life …or become an ornament on the fence, in the way of a walker. He fed off the power Negan held over the group called the Saviors and yearned to please him to have a safe place to finally lay his head, without the fear he’d been living day to day in this new world where it was, kill or be killed. He made sure he was the guy that Negan and his top dogs wanted on their runs collecting their due from the communities Negan was protecting. He thought it was a good life finally until, he killed that boy from the Kingdom. He’d only shot him in the leg…that fuckin Richard always pissed him off to no end. He never thought the kid would die.

When he heard the kid died a part of him had broke as well. He hid it from the others but could only think about the nephew he had lost. That could have been him if he had lived to be born. Now he had most likely killed someone else’s nephew, brother, son, grandson. It began to eat him up inside. Thank god the war began to take his mind off of things. The King, Rick the Prick, and the Widow, they were what consumed Negan now and Jared relished the distraction from his thoughts of killing the kid.

He'd not killed anyone else since that day. Oh, he’d pretended he had and it was easy since they ran in large groups for the battles with the different communities. None of the saviors new that he missed on purpose. He was almost relieved when he was captured and held at The Hilltop by Maggie. He kept up his facade by taunting Maggie and the guards at The Hilltop, but he really had no desire to leave there. Her people didn’t have to bow down and take a knee whenever she walked by. She was always out there working side by side with her people. They didn’t have to work for points. They didn’t have to worry about getting the iron or being put on the fence.

He knew that the Saviors were blocking any incoming food and not letting anyone go out to hunt. Yet Maggie took away from her own people to make sure they had something to eat. It was early this morning when he regretted taunting her to keep up his façade, when he woke to being cuffed by Jesus and was being put in a van for the exchange of prisoners. He didn’t want to go back to the Sanctuary, he wanted the war to end and stay at The Hilltop.

Maggie groaned out in pain and her eyes fluttered open. It felt like her arms were being ripped from her sockets. As she looked up she could see her hands were in handcuffs and were attached to a hook of some sort pulling her up a hill. She looked down to see Jared, of all people underneath her, eyes closed, faced etched in pain. As she felt the bumps, she realized he was being dragged over things and it was made worse by her being on top of him. She tried to roll off of him, but he tightened his legs around her, preventing her from doing so.

“Don’t move.” He groaned quietly in pain. When they reached the top, she could see the tow truck they were attached to. She saw filthy men in dirty overalls, with greasy hair and unkempt facial hair, and missing teeth. They pulled the handcuffs from the hook and unceremoniously picked them up and threw them into the back of a rusty beat up pickup truck. Two of the mountain men climbed into the back with them, holding shotguns.

“Pa, he ain’t gonna be able to hunt but one iffen he’s lucky. Let me have this un fer me wife.”

“Am too, Rufus! Pa I kin do it! Everyone else got ther hunt, it ain’t fair iffen I don’t git mine!”

“Hush now boy! Yer be gitten yers jus like em. Shut up Rufus! Iffen she’s still alive at the end I reckon you can ave her.”

Maggie and Jared laid quietly pretending to be unconscious. Jared flinching at every bump in the road they hit.

Daniel woke in pain. He looked around trying to remember where he was and what happened. He could hear voices and it wasn’t any that he knew, so he rolled behind a tree and listened. He peeked around the tree when he heard someone asking if he could keep her for a wife. That’s when he saw Maggie unconscious, bleeding from her head. He watched as they pulled Jared from the back and said the others were dead. There were five of them and he knew he wasn’t strong enough and had no weapons to try to help Maggie at this time so he waited. He watched in horror as they cuffed them and hooked them to pull them up the hill. Then had to blink to make sure he was seeing what he was seeing when he saw that bastard Jared, appear to pull Maggie on top of him to keep her from being torn up going over all the rocks and briars and such being dragged up the hill by their arms. He really didn’t know what think about that. What he did know was that he needed to go get help. He needed to find his way back to Jesus and let him know what happened, because Jesus thought this was going to be a trap. Only he didn’t think these were saviors, these were back woods men, mountain men. He knew by the way they talked and dressed. He didn’t know what they wanted but he could see that they were headed back up the mountain.

Maggie woke up and groaned in pain. It was dark, or at least appeared to be dark until she could see sunlight coming through the cracks between the board walls. It looked like a wood shed as her eyes adjusted to the dim atmosphere. Her hands were still cuffed in front of her. She looked around trying to see where she was and if there was any way out. As she turned to her side to try to get up, she felt another body. It groaned as she ran her hands over it. Everything came back to her. She was driving the prisoners to the exchange to get three of her own back when they wrecked and went over the cliff and crashed. Only she and Jared had survived. But…. What of Daniel? She’d not seen his body. Was he alive? Was he here with them? She felt around looking for him. Jared groaned again. Of all the people to be held with….this was one that didn’t make her list. She hated him. He taunted her every time he saw her. Then she frowned thinking about how he had his legs locked around her as they were being pulled up the hill. She peered down at him trying to see him now that her eyes were adjusting to the dim light. He was face down and she could see his bloodied and ripped shirt. Was that because of her? Why? Why would he try to protect her? She didn’t know or understand.

The shed door opened and three men came inside to drag them out. Maggie and Jared both raised their hands to shield their eyes from the bright morning sunlight. They were pushed forward to stand in front of an older man and a younger boy.

“Who are you? What do you want with us.” Maggie asked the old man.

“Tis ma boy Bubba’s birthday, and he wants his hunt.”

“What does that have to do with us?” She asked him. The others snickered at them. Jared had a bad feeling. He had an idea of what was about to happen. Their cuffs were removed to only then be reapplied cuffing them together by their wrists. 

“Yer the prey.” He cackled out, making all his boys laugh too.

“You’re going to hunt us?”

“Ye git an hour head start, then Bubba here’s comin’ fer ya.”

“What? Why? We haven’t done anything to you. We have resources, we can get you things you may need, we can work together, you don’t have to do this.”

“Ye just used up two minutes wit all yer wallering, ya best git.” And they all laughed again.

Jared took Maggie’s hand that was cuffed to his into his own, and turned and began to run, pulling her along.

“I can’t believe this. Why would they do this?” Maggie asked while they ran.

“It’s a sport to them, a rite of passage. It’s for the kid, he’s the one that’s gonna be hunting us. It’s like a damn scene out of Deliverance.” He said with disgust. They ran for about 30 minutes when Maggie said to stop.

“We can’t stop, we need to put as much distance between them and us as we can.” Maggie slowed and pulled on his hand until they were stopped and breathing heavy from their exertion.

“We need to be smart about this. They’re mountain people, which means they’re gonna know how to track. We’re leaving a trail and leading them right to us. We need to find a creek, stream or lake, some kind of water where we won’t leave tracks. I’ve been with Daryl since the beginning he’s taught us all a thing or two about tracking.”

Jared reached out and touched her cheek making her look up at him.

“How’s your head?” He asked her softly. Maggie looked up at him, really looked. Was that concern that she saw in his eyes? It made her think back to when he was holding her on top of him while they were being dragged up the hill. Who was this man that she was chained to? He certainly wasn’t the same man who’d taunted her daily since being taken prisoner during this awful war. She raised her right hand to check her head, which was the hand that was cuffed to Jared. His eyes zeroed in on her bruised wrist. He took hold of it and gently ran his thumb over the black and blue rings. She pulled it out of his grasp.

“It’s fine. I’m fine. We need to go. We need to find water. We need to not make it so easy for them to find us.” She turned and walked away, forgetting that she was attached to him until her arm pulled because he hadn’t moved yet. She turned to look back at him. He stepped forward and laced his fingers with hers and started walking. He didn’t want the cuffs bruising her wrist any more than they already had. Maggie’s first instinct was to pull away, but she didn’t, she was handcuffed to the man. There was no getting away from him.

Daniel walked/ran all the rest of the day and into the night, before making it back to the Hilltop. He was covered in his own dried blood from the crash. He had no idea if they were following him trying to find him. Jesus listened to his account of what had happened. He readied a party and sent word to Alexandria for help, drawing a map for them to meet at. He wanted Daryl there to track them. The thought of Maggie out there handcuffed to Jared and being hunted scared the life out of him. He really feared for her and the baby.

“Here.” Maggie stopped and squatted down.

“What is it?” Jared asked squatting to see what she was looking at.

“It’s a deer trail. We follow it… we’ll find water.” She smiled at him. She grabbed his hand and linked her fingers with his and took off at a jog. She left him no time to wonder about that smile. It lasted only a second but she’d actually smiled at him. He kept pace with her easily, even catching her when she stumbled over an exposed tree root, with an arm around her waist keeping her from falling on her face.

“Thanks.” She said and kept right on running.

“You need to be more careful, you don’t want anything to happen to that baby of yours.” She came to a halt without notice and he ran right into her back almost knocking her down. His arm snaked around her again to keep her from falling.

“Who are you?” She asked him, making him uncomfortable. He knew she had every right to ask him that, after all he was actually being nice, not his obnoxious self.

“Come on Maggie we need to go. There will be time to talk once were not leaving them a trail to follow.” Maggie let it go for now because he was right, but she wanted answers and would indeed get them at some point before they died. He’d called her Maggie and not ‘Widow” as he always had in the past. She didn’t even know that he knew her actual name.

It was about 30 minutes later when they ran across the stream. They both leaned down for a much needed drink of water. Both knew they were taking a chance drinking it but really had no choice in the matter at this time. After slaking their thirst and hearing the water rushing downstream, Maggie couldn’t hold it any longer.

“I have to pee.” She blurted out. Jared could see that she was embarrassed. She wouldn’t be able to get away from him to go in private. He’d had to go for some time now too, but was more worried about putting distance between them and the hunters. He walked them to the base of a big tree. Then stretched their cuffed arms around it until he was on the other side.

“Go ahead Maggie I’ll go on this side.”

“Wait!” Maggie said coming back around. “I need to undo my belt and pants first.” She did what she needed then asked him if needed to as well. Then moved back around to the other side and relieved herself. It was all she could do to keep the groan from escaping her throat at the relief she felt after holding it so long. Once finished they talked about which way to go.

“They’re chasing us further up the mountain. I think we need to go down. If we walk through the night, that will give us a big advantage since they won’t be able to track us after dark, we’ll have a huge distance between us. My people will be looking for me since I didn’t return yesterday from the exchange.”

“Okay, that sounds good.” Jared agreed with her. They made there way into the water being sure to make it appear that they were heading upstream, then waded out to the middle before they started downstream. Their progress was slow since you couldn’t move as fast in the water. But they weren’t leaving a trail to follow so it was worth it. 

They walked hand in hand and didn’t speak for hours. It was in the middle of the night after walking through the stream for about 8 hours that Jared knew that Maggie needed rest. She’d not complained even once, she just kept trudging forward. He felt that she was on auto pilot. She’d stumbled for the 4th time in the past hour. He remembered how tired his sister was when she was pregnant, how she needed to nap often. He didn’t know how Maggie was doing it, he himself was so tired. She had to be exhausted.

“Maggie, we need to stop and rest for a bit.” She didn’t answer, she just plodded along putting one foot in front of the other. Her head was down like she was looking at her feet. He leaned down to look at her face and saw her eyes were closed. Was she asleep? No wonder she was stumbling…. she was literally asleep on her feet. He’d never met a woman as strong as her. She never gave up. Even as he taunted her, she’d never tortured him. Hell, Negan would have made an example of him and made his life a living hell, if he’d have ever said any of the things he’d said to her, to him. He briefly wondered if she had been this strong before the world went to shit or was she made strong because of it. 

Jesus, Daniel, and Jerry stood at the broken guardrail looking down at the crash site, while they waited for Daryl to arrive. 

“How are you feeling Daniel?” Jesus asked him. He hadn’t wanted him to come but Daniel insisted. He was feeling responsible for not keeping Maggie safe. They heard a vehicle approaching. All three men raised their weapons as one. The war was still on, after all. To their relief it was Daryl and Tara.

Daniel retold his story to Daryl and Tara, including how it appeared that Jared was trying to protect her. It didn’t take Daryl anytime at all to find the overgrown dirt road leading up the mountain. Daryl and Jesus walked and the two vehicles followed slowly behind. There were a lot of twists and turns but Daryl was having no problem following their trail. He finally stopped them and had them abandon the vehicles. They covered them with brush to camouflage them, and headed out on foot.

Bubba was getting frustrated. He’d tracked them easily until they crossed the river. He only had an hour of daylight left and he stilled hadn’t found where they had gotten out of the water. With him being alone, it took him twice as long as it would have, had he had one of his brothers with him, so they could search both sides of the river banks at one time. Now he had to search one side then backtrack to search the other side. He was starting to worry that in his excitement for his hunt that he’d missed where they got out at. It didn’t even occur to him that they would be smart enough to stay in the water or that they might have gone down stream. He pushed on for another 30 minutes before stopping to make camp. Oh, he knew his brothers, just knew that they’d come looking for him in the morning, then he’d never hear the end of it. Then, they’d take over his hunt. He sat there beside his small campfire and cried out his frustration, while hitting himself in the head.

Jared knew he needed to get Maggie out of the water. She needed rest and there were only a few hours left before dawn. He raised their cuffed hands in front of Maggie and put his arm over her head so he could pick her up to carry her. She never woke up. She wasn’t big, by any means, but she was dead weight and he was so tired and in a lot of pain. He needed to stop soon, but he needed to find a safe place. He couldn’t let her die, he had to save her. He wasn’t there to save his family, but her life and the life of her baby was literally in his hands. He plodded on searching for a safe place to stop. He was currently traipsing along the side of a massive rock wall, when he came upon a wide ledge under an overhang. He lifted Maggie up and laid her on the ledge then hoisted himself up. His back and arm muscles were screaming at him, even his legs were shaking after all the time spent trudging through the thigh high river water. He quickly divested them of their boots and socks. Their feet looked like prunes. He could hear Maggie’s teeth chattering. No! He couldn’t let her get sick. He had no way to make a fire for her. He didn’t think she’d like it but no felt he had no choice, as he peeled her wet jeans off of her and laid them out to dry. He unbuttoned his plaid flannel shirt and slipped it off the arm that wasn’t cuffed. He slid it up and over Maggie’s hand that was cuffed to his and it turned inside out. He then wrapped it around her pulling the other sleeve inside out and pushed her free arm through the sleeve. He lifted her onto his lap, so no part of her was touching the cold slab of rock. He then pulled up her legs to encase them inside the flannel shirt. Her chin rested upon her knees. She never woke up. After about 10 minutes she stopped shivering and slept peacefully. He wrapped his arms around her to keep her covered, and laid his head back against the rock, closed his eyes and was out himself within seconds.

Daryl found where they went into the water. He squatted down to examine the boot prints.

“We still have about an hour of light left, shouldn’t we keep moving upstream?” Jerry asked him. Daryl stood and starting walking downstream scanning the water’s edge.

“Nah, they went downstream.”

“But, their boots are going in this direction.” Jerry said pointing in the other direction.

“Maggie says they went this way.” The group walked to where Daryl was and he pointed down to a flat rock at the rivers edge. There was a scratched slash on the left side and a twig, back slashed on the right side, forming an arrow pointing downstream.

“How do you know?” Jerry asked.

“Because I taught her that.” Daryl told them.

Maggie was jolted awake by a loud clap of thunder. As she waited for her tired eyes to focus she realized that she was on top of Jared again. She lifted her head to look at him. He was out cold, even the booming thunder hadn’t awakened him. She looked around and had no memory of getting here, wherever here was. Then she saw her jeans, boots and socks lying beside them, and felt the warmth of Jared’s flannel shirt surrounding her. He had undressed her from the waist down, well except for her underwear. She stretched her legs out. The stone was oh so cold she wanted to pull them back up onto Jared. There was a storm raging. She could see the river and it was angry. Flashes of lightning and rumbling thunder rent the air. The rain was coming down in sheets and she couldn’t even see the river bank on the other side. She tried to stand to work out her sore muscles. Everything hurt. She was cold, tired, hungry, and had to pee. She looked around they were on a rock ledge no trees here. She moved as far away as their cuffed hands would allow and relieved herself. They really needed to find a better shelter and some food. She moved closer to Jared and tried to wake him. He was shivering. He groaned out as he tried to move his legs. His eyes opened and he ran his hands over his thighs.

“I can’t move my legs.” He told her with wide frightened eyes.

“It’s probably because I was on top of you all night.” She began to massage his legs to get the blood flowing again. She prayed that’s all it was and not something worse. She reached under his legs and they were so cold.

“Jared can you roll on to your side?” He tried but she had to help him. She rubbed the back of his legs and his buttocks, when she moved to his back he let out an involuntary cry. She lifted his shirt to see the bloody mess. It looked like raw hamburger. She drew in a sharp breath. He’d never said a word all day or night. She knew without a doubt that it happened when they were pulling them up the hill and not from the accident.

“Why didn’t you say something?” Maggie asked him.

“It’s not important Maggie, you and your baby are what matters.” She lowered his shirt. 

“Why?” She asked him. 

She’d been wanting to talk about his odd behavior. She didn’t understand what was going on with him. It was liked he cared about her and her baby. Was this some kind of trick?

“It doesn’t matter Maggie, we need to be thinking about what we’re going to do.”

“With this storm we’re not going anywhere, so this is the perfect time to talk.”

“I don’t wanna.” 

“Well I do! You’ve hated me and wanted me dead since I’ve laid eyes on you. All the sudden you act you care about me, I want to know why?” She waited ……. and waited. He stood there, mute. 

“Jared!” He actually jumped like a child who knew that he was in trouble at her barked command.

“I wasn’t always a douche bag Maggie.” Since he wasn’t looking at her but out at the raging water, she smiled at his accurate description of himself.

“Before the world went to shit, I had a Mother and Father……I had 5 little sisters that I doted on and was fiercely protective of, one of which was carrying my unborn nephew.” Just speaking of them had tears making a trail down his cheeks. He didn’t wipe them away, he didn’t look at her, he just stared out at the storm as he thought of the family he lost.

“How did you lose them?” She asked him softly, pretty sure that she already knew the answer but wanted him to say it out loud because she was fairly sure he had never done so. When he didn’t answer right away, she gently laced her cuffed hand with his for comfort.

“We’d been surviving fairly well out on a farm we came across running from the dead. The heat and stove ran with propane and they must have just filled been before…….because it was full when we got there. There were chickens, pigs, cows, and a garden filled with ripe vegetables. My Mom and Jenna were trying to can everything they could to stock up on food for the coming winter. Jenna was 22 and 8 months pregnant ……. My Father and I left to scavenge for warm clothing, boots, oil for the lamps, you know routine stuff needed. Garret, my Sister Jenna’s husband, stayed behind with my Mom and all my sisters. My Father and I were supposed to be back by the evening but we got trapped in a minute mart by a small herd that didn’t move off until the next day. By the time we got home……….” He stopped and swallowed, then took a few deep breaths. Maggie gave his hand a small squeeze. She knew he needed to get this out.

“When we walked in the house their were 4 little girls coming at us……only 3 of them were my little sisters. I don’t know where the fourth little girl came from. We figured that Jamie or Jazzy must have opened the door because they were only 8 and 6 years old and…..and let the little dead girl into the house. I don’t think Jessie would have opened the door……she was 12 and knew better. I’m sure that my Mother and Jenna and Julia were in the kitchen canning the vegetables. After I killed 3 of my baby sisters and the other little girl we ran through the house hoping….praying that my Mother, Garret, and my 2 other Sisters were alive and hiding. …….When I reached the kitchen my Mother and sisters were already coming at us. I was struggling with Jenna and Julia. But…….my Father was just holding my Mother away from him and he was crying while she was trying to bite him. I didn’t get my sisters put down in time to save my Father who couldn’t put my Mother down before she bit him. We found Garret laying on the kitchen floor. The back of his head must have been bashed in it during the struggle. He was dead but he hadn’t turned………most of his body had been eaten away. My Father died 2 days later and I had to put him down.” His tears had stopped and he was speaking and a monotone voice, like he was telling someone else’s story and not his own. Maggie was hugging him at this point yet he didn’t even notice, his eyes stared unblinking into the turbulent water. He continued on in that same voice………

“My Mother…. my Father…. my 5 baby Sisters…. my Brother-in-law… My………unborn Nephew…….. I killed them all, I didn’t save a single one………” He broke down and sobbed, dropping to his knees. Maggie went down to her knees with him holding his heaving body as tight as she could while all that pain coursed through every fiber of his being. When he sat back on his heels drained, she gently wiped away his tears. He’d lost everyone he loved in a single swoop. Maggie knew the pain of loss all to well. She felt his arm come around her and he’d laid his head on top of hers.

“I’m so sorry Maggie for taunting you and being such a bastard. I changed that day. I wasn’t even human anymore. I was more like a wild animal on a path of vengeance. I killed every dead one I could find, I went as far as to seek them out just so I could kill them. I wandered for months alone killing all that could. That’s when the Saviors found me. I was in such a dark place that I tried to kill them. Negan had me imprisoned in a cell for months. He broke me down, made it perfectly clear what would happen to me if I didn’t comply. It was join them and be safe…….or end up a walker on his fence. So, I joined them and I worked hard for the points and privileges. I worked my way up into the ranks doing anything asked of me. I really never saw what I had become until……” He stopped and dropped his head to his chest and began to cry some more. Maggie waited him out….. When he looked at her his face was etched with such pain and sorrow, her heart broke for him.

“I killed a boy Maggie……I didn’t mean to….but that doesn’t matter….I killed him. When I found out that he had died…..I died inside too. I hated myself and what I I’d let myself become. But…..I didn’t have the balls to kill myself. I’m a weak piece of shit Maggie, I don’t deserve to breathe the same air as you. Since that day everything I’ve said and done was nothing but a facade.”

“Why didn’t you just leave the saviors Jared?” He looked at her as if she was speaking another language.

“No one leaves the Saviors Maggie, once you’re a savior…..that’s it. If you try to escape, you’re hunted down and are either put on the fence or imprisoned. When the war started I was so happy. I never killed a single person and no one knew since we were always in large groups. When your people captured us …. I had a glimmer of hope. I wanted you guys…..still want you guys to win the war and defeat Negan. I was hoping that you might let those of us that wanted to …..stay on with you.”

“If that’s what you wanted Jared you sure had an odd and stupid way of showing it.” Maggie said to him. He snorted out a humorless sad laugh.

“I had to keep up the façade in case you didn’t win and I was recued by the Saviors, I couldn’t take the chance of Negan finding out. I hated doing it…..when I saw how you treated your people with such kindness and respect. No one had to take a knee in your presence. You worked side by side with your people. No one had to work for points just to get food. You even shared what little you have with us so that we didn’t starve. You’re a great leader Maggie one that anyone would want to follow. So when Jesus handcuffed me and put me in the van for the trade…..I knew it was over for me, I lost my chance of redemption. When I woke up after the accident, at first, I thought it was the saviors ambushing you and saving us, and I wished I had died in the crash. Then, I realized it wasn’t the Saviors and I knew I had to protect you. I have to save you for your people if I can. I have to make up for my pathetic life of letting people die. I will die Maggie, to keep you and your baby alive.” He put his hands on both sides of her cheeks and looked directly into her eyes when he said it so she would know that he was telling her the truth.

Maggie placed her hands over his. A short time ago she hated this man. Right now…..her heart was breaking for him.

“We’re going to keep each other alive, Jared, and we’ll make it back home.” He was afraid to ask her what that meant……did that mean she meant that he could stay? They stood and walked to the end of the ledge and looked at the still raging water. The storm was subsiding.

“Can you swim or float?” Maggie asked him.

“In that?” Jared asked in disbelief.

“We can wait a little while, but it would take us down stream so much faster than we could ever walk or run and get us that much further away from them.” Jared looked from her to the tempestuous waters.

“Maggie it’s too dangerous for you and the baby.”

“No more dangerous than us being hunted.” She countered.

Daryl and the group had found shelter in a small shack to wait out the storm. They were nearly chomping at the bit for this storm to end so they could get back out there.

“Daryl, are you going to be able to find them now? I mean, won’t the storm erase all their tracks?” Daniel asked him. Daryl wouldn’t admit that he was worried himself about that exact problem.

“We’ll find them.” Was his only answer.

Bubba was awakened by the storm and had to run nearly a mile up to higher ground to find shelter. He was shivering, soaked to the skin, tired and hungry. He was actually hoping his brothers and Pa would find him now.

Meanwhile……….

Horace, Cooter, Roscoe and Rufus were also holed up in one of their hunting shacks waiting for storm to abate.

After another two hours the rain had completely stopped. Maggie and Jared had decided together to take their chances in the river rather than wait to be found by the ‘Deliverance’ boys as Jared was calling them.

“Remember, don’t let go of my hand for any reason or your wrist or maybe even your arm could be dislocated. Promise me Maggie.” Maggie looked up at him.

“I promise.” Jared nodded and they moved to the end of the ledge. The water was just reaching the ledge now which meant it was up by at least 8 inches. It appeared to still be rising. Jared really wasn’t so sure about her idea to do this, but she was a leader of a settlement so he decided to do it for her. 

“Ready?” She asked looking up at him. He leaned down and gave her a soft chaste kiss.

“I’m following you Maggie, I’ll protect you as best I can.” Maggie nodded and gave his linked hand a squeeze. They sat down at the edge, then slipped down into the rushing water. The rapid current swiftly carried them away.

“Don’t let go Maggie!” Jared yelled out praying they’d survive after being sucked beneath the waters surface several times already, clinging tightly to her hand. Jared arm snaked out to grab at the large tree branch getting ready to travel right past them. He got an arm around it and held on for dear life while pulling Maggie up to the water’s surface.

“Maggie! Put your arm around this branch!” He shoved it in front of her. She grabbed it and was still coughing up the river water she had swallowed after being sucked under yet again. They were moving at a fast pace. Jared wanted…..needed to get them out. It was just too dangerous. He’d tried it her way, now they were going to do it his way. He was not going to let her die. The log was helping to keep their heads above water, but they were both physically exhausted from their whole ordeal. They hadn’t eaten since they’d left the Hilltop and had been almost constantly on the run. Until now, they had only had a small amount of water. This muddied storm water that they’d been force to swallow was no good for them at all. He needed to get them out of this. 

Daryl was setting a grueling pace. He had no idea how far ahead Maggie was. He needed to find her and get her home safe. He’d lost her Sister Beth and there was no way in hell he was going to lose her too. Any evidence of where they exited the river had been washed away by the storm. Daryl’s only hope now was to catch up to her.

Maggie was having a hard time hanging on. Her strength was waning. She’d made a terrible mistake and it just may get them killed. Jared hadn’t wanted to do this. He tried to talk her out of it. But……he was right, her body was depleted of energy. No food and water, being pregnant and having no rest……. she didn’t want him to die because of her. She knew without a doubt that he’d only agreed because he was trying to make amends to her for the way he had treated her back at the Hilltop, and she’d taken advantage of that. Now…..that decision may cost them both their lives.

Jared pulled her up from beneath the water for the umpteenth time. No! She would not die on his watch, he told himself. She was all that was good in this horrible new world that they now lived in. He’d seen it with his own eyes. 

“Maggie! Turn around and face me!” He yelled over the rushing water.

“Maggie!” He said in a more commanding voice. She lifted her head when she stopped coughing up more water.

“I can’t Jared……I’m sorry…..”

“Maggie! Turn your ass around and face me now!” He could see that she couldn’t do it on her own. She was done, she had nothing left in her tank. It was all up to him to get them out of this. His used his free right arm to hold onto the tree branch, then his left took Maggie by the waist and pulled her in front of himself. He moved their cuffed hands to hold onto the large branch, then his free hand went up and under Maggie’s arm to grasp hold of the other side. She was now trapped in front of him against the branch. They were chest to chest and she began to throw up from all the water she had taken in already. He didn’t even have time for it to register, when they were suddenly going over a small water fall. He tightened his grip around the tree branch because he knew they’d be going under again, but the branch would help pull them up to the surface. When they resurfaced, both of them were trying to catch their breath and expel the water they’d taken in. He had no idea how long they’d been in the water, but knew that they needed to get out as soon as possible. He was battle rammed with debris over and over. The groans he emitted were lost over the sound of the raging water.

Maggie felt every hit he took from the debris. He was being pounded, and it was all her fault. He was shielding her with his body. They needed to find a way out of this water. For the first time since their ordeal began, she didn’t think they were going to make it. She didn’t want to die without telling him.

“Jared, I forgive you. I forgive you for everything.” She said in his ear. He leaned back after hearing her words. At first he was overcome with gratitude, then realized that there was no way she would grant him forgiveness after only two days, unless……..

“No! No Maggie! Take it back! We’re not going to die!” She was shaking her head back and forth in the negative.

“Well, I don’t accept your forgiveness! Do you hear me? I don’t accept it! And I won’t unless we’re back at the Hilltop and you say it there.” Maggie just closed her eyes in defeat. She didn’t think she hold on much longer. Two days ago, she wouldn’t have cared if she drowned him in a river, but not now. He had redeemed himself already with everything he’d done since the crash.

There was a bend up ahead in the river. Jared started kicking his legs, he gave it everything he had left to try to get them to the overflowed bank where the current wasn’t nearly as strong. The river bend was to the right so the rapid current was finally working in their favor. They slammed into the bank they couldn’t see since it was under water. Jared immediately released the tree branch to hoist Maggie onto the bank. He barely got himself up. The water wasn’t nearly as angry up here and he helped Maggie to her feet. She bent down to throw up more of the river water she’d ingested. Seeing her made him gag and vomit up a lot of the water as well. They walked until they were out of the water and then collapsed onto the ground. He had no idea how long they laid there went a shot rang out and he had a searing pain on his right side just below his ribs. He rolled on top of Maggie to shield her. A second shot rent the air and hit his left shoulder causing him to cry out. Jared knew he needed to get them up and into the woods that was about 10 yards away.

Daryl, Jesus and the others were still jogging along the rivers edge hoping to catch up with Maggie and Jared, went they heard the gun shot. They were close, real close. He used hand signals so they could surround and eliminate the threat if need be. Tara caught a movement across the river and pulled out her binoculars to get a better look.

“Daryl! There across the on the other side.” She pointed handing him her binoculars. It was them. Jared was placing his body on top of Maggie. He could see that he’d been hit by his bloodied side. Another shot boomed out, and he watched as blood spread over his left shoulder. He took off running toward the gunfire praying that Jesus, Daniel and Jerry were closer and could take them out before Maggie got killed. 

Jared knew this was it. This was how he was going to die and Maggie would end up dying as well because she was attached to him. It was getting harder and harder to hold the bulk of his weight off of her. He was losing a lot of blood and was getting weaker. More shots peppered the air. He waited for more pain to come but it didn’t. he briefly wondered how they’d missed him after being so accurate with last to shots, but tossed the thought aside when he realized they must be reloading. He got to his knees and sat Maggie up then stood and picked her up and slowly made his way to the woods for cover.

Daryl and Tara heard the shots and picked up their pace, trying to keep an eye on the cuffed couple. They watched in stunned silence as Jared rose and picked up Maggie and started for the cover of the woods. They knew the man had at least two bullets in him. When they finally reached the others, 3 men lay dead on the ground. As they scanned the other side of the river, Maggie and Jared could no longer be seen.

“How are we gonna get across that?” Jerry asked no one in particular. 

“There!” Tara said pointing as she was looking through her binoculars. Daryl looked and about a half mile down river there was a bridge. They made sure the dead men wouldn’t rise and headed for the bridge.

Jared couldn’t go any further. He went down to his knees holding Maggie in his arms. He laid her on her side with her beautiful head resting on his cuffed arm, theirs laced fingers together. He spooned up behind her and placed his palm on her belly as if to protect her unborn child. His last thoughts, before he passed out were that he’d failed again. He lied to her…..he couldn’t protect her and her baby. He was nothing but a piece of shit. He deserved to die, but she didn’t.

Maggie was fading fast herself. She’d think of a plan, she would. She just needed some rest first. They’d make it out of this. They had to, she didn’t want Jared to die. She wanted him at the Hilltop. She was so cold, and so tired, and her baby needed food. Jared had done everything to protect her and her baby. She couldn’t let him die. That was her last thought as she closed her eyes.

It was about 40 minutes later when they found them. Daryl had no trouble tracking them. All he had to do was follow the bloody trail. The way they found them, they looked more like lovers than enemies. Jesus was at Maggie’s side, while Daryl was checking for a pulse on Jared.

“He’s still alive.” Daryl announced.

“Maggie.” He said trying to wake her. She didn’t stir.

“We need to get out of here. We don’t know how many there are.” Tara said.

They were trying to figure out how they were going to get them out being cuffed together when Jared moved and groaned. His eyes only opened briefly and looked at Jesus who was in his line of view.

“Jesus, save Maggie and protect her baby. Just leave me and save them.” He said before passing out once again. No one bothered to mention that they were still cuffed together. Tara and Daniel went back for the vehicles to meet them at the bridge or closer if they could manage. They realized that they’d have to carry them side by side. So, Jerry laid Jared over his left shoulder and Daryl had Maggie over his right. They moved as fast as they could under the circumstances. Jesus blazed a trail where they could walk side by side.

“He’s hot, really hot.” Jerry told them. Jesus went behind him to feel his head. He was burning up with fever. They needed to hurry. With the added weight of their burdens, it took them 30 minutes to reach the road. Tara and Daniel were there waiting for them. They put the seat down in the SUV and eased Maggie and Jared in which wasn’t easy. 

It was slow going down the mountain with all the twists and turns and it was very bumpy. It concerned them that neither Maggie or Jared woke from being jostled around. They sighed with relief when they hit the paved road and drove like bats out of hell back to the Hilltop. 

When they reached their destination and the gates opened they could breathe a little easier. Jesus was shouting out orders. The bolt cutters were brought out and they managed to cut the chain between the cuffs. The two patients were quickly taken to the infirmary, where Dr. Carlson was waiting with Siddiq and two others. Everyone was ushered out while they were being treated.

The first thing that Dr. Carlson noticed was the they were dehydrated and on the verge of hypothermia. Their wet clothes were cut off. IV’s were started, and on Jared antibiotics were added. They managed to get the two bullets out of Jared. No one questioned Jesus as to why they were even trying to save him. Beside the two bullet holes, Jared’s body was in bad shape. His back looked like raw meat. He had 3 broken ribs and the rest of him was, more black and blue than any other color. They moved him onto his side, placing pillows in front and back of him to keep him from rolling over. Now it was a waiting game to see if he would survive.

It was the evening of the following day when Maggie finally opened her eyes. She was trying to figure out why she was in the infirmary. Had something happened to her? She closed her eyes to try to remember. She had gotten up early to make the prison exchange with Negan. She’d been worried about her argument with Jesus the night before. She knew that he cared and was worried about her, but she couldn’t put him in danger too. He’d arranged for Daniel to be her driver. He was young, but learning fast how to survive this world under Jesus’s tutelage. She felt confident that he would be fine. They had been on there way to the exchange…….. she bolted upright!

“Jared!” She yelled out trying to get out of the bed only to find IV’s in her veins. As she readied herself to pull them out, Jesus, Daryl, Dr. Carlson, Siddiq, Tara and even Rick came rushing into her room.

“Jared!” She yelled at them. “Where’s Jared, we have to go back for him, he saved my life!”

“Maggie, calm down. Jared is here…….”

“No! He’s not a prisoner! I need to see him. Take me to him.” She continued to try to get out of bed. Jesus held her in place. 

“Maggie…..he’s here, he’s just in the next room.”

“I need to see him! Is he alright?”

“Maggie….. he hasn’t woken up yet. He was in really bad shape when we got you guys here.”

Horace stood looking at the bodies of his 3 dead sons. Bubba had his face buried against his Father.

“I’m sorry Pa….” Bubba cried feeling it was all his fault that his brothers were dead. If he’d only found his prey before the storm hit, they wouldn’t have come looking for him, and they’d still be alive. They could see the tracks of 5 people. They buried them and spoke a few words, then followed the tracks to the bridge. He took solace in the fact that his sons had gotten some of them when he saw the bloody trail. For now, he needed to get his youngest home so they could grieve proper like. He knew they were long gone and he’d never be able to find them. With heavy hearts they headed for home.

Jesus was looking for Maggie. Well, he actually knew where to find her. She was where she always was when she wasn’t working a shift or solving problems for her people. He entered the infirmary and went straight to Jared’s room. He’d yet to wake up, as his body was still fighting the bad infection of his back wounds. Maggie sat at his bedside holding his hand as she’d done everyday for the past 4 days. Her own battered and bruised body was still healing, however, her bruises had already started to fade to that sickly yellow hue.

“How’s he doing?” Jesus asked her. She gave him a weak smile.

“He’s the same but the fever is beginning to go down so that’s a good sign.”

“Rick and Daryl just radioed, they said the saviors are less than an hour away to do the prisoner swap. They’re hauling tail to beat them here, they should be here within 30 minutes.”

“Okay thank you Jesus. Have you picked the three to trade?”

“Yes, and I have all our best shooters, armed and already on the walls.”

“Good, I’ll be out in a minute.” Jesus turned and left the room. Maggie had told them all what Jared had done for her out there. She even told them everything that had happened to make Jared the way he was. They knew she was going to allow him to stay and they’d accepted it a bit reluctantly. She leaned in closer to Jared’s ear.

“You keep fighting Jared. Do you hear me? You keep fighting. I’m not going to lose you now after all we went through together. I’ll be back later to sit with you.” She then kissed him on his forehead and left to make the exchange.

“Well, helloooo Widow! I see you survived the crash, unlike my men.” Simon shouted up to Maggie who was armed on the wall looking down on him.

“But, I only saw Roger and Todd. Where’s my third man?”

“He didn’t make it. He was shot twice up on the mountain.”

“Who was it?” Simon asked her.

“Jared.”

“Now that’s a damn shame.” Simon said and shook his head back and forth like he really cared.

“He was one of my best guys. How’d it happen and how did you manage to survive?” 

“The first shot brought him down on top of me. The bullet meant for me got him again.” Simon could see the remnants of fading bruises on Maggie. He decided to go check out her story on the way home just to be sure.

“Let me see my people.” She signaled for hers to open the gate, where 3 of theirs were waiting to be exchanged. He in turn, signaled to the van and 3 of hers were pulled out. Each party sent the prisoners to walk on their own. Weapons were raised on both sides just in case. The trade was made without incident. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when it was over and the gate was closed and Simon and his men left.

Three days earlier………

“We need a walker, a dead one.” Maggie said from her bed with IV’s still dripping into her veins.

“We need to pull it up over the wall behind Barrington house, so the prisoners don’t see it. Then it needs to be wrapped and carried in front of them to be buried. I want them all to think it’s Jared. They saw him come in and when the trade is made I want those 3 to say it was Jared and that he’s dead.” Maggie’s wishes were carried out, and when she was on her feet she even offered condolences to the prisoners for losing one of their own.

On the way back to the Sanctuary, Simon made a detour up the mountain. His three men confirmed everything that Maggie had said. But he wanted to make sure that this wouldn’t happen to them. He needed to see if there were any more mountain folks up there.

They came across a shack with smoke coming out of the chimney and surrounded it. A dog began barking.

“Git off my mountain!” Came a grizzly voice from the cabin.

“You killed one of my men, we don’t take kindly to folks killing our people.” Simon shouted out from behind a tree.

“Yer man killed me three boys.” The voice shouted back.

“He wouldn’t have if you hadn’t run them off the road.” A shot rang out of the shack and buckshot peppered the tree that Simon was standing behind. He gave the signal and AR-15 rounds were shooting through the thin walls from all angles.

Simon signaled for them to stop and they waited. Dog laid dead on the tiny porch. He sent two men forward to check. The two men kicked the door in and went inside. When Simon entered it was to see two old men a teenage boy and a little girl lying dead. They made their way back down the mountain and headed for home.

Jared lay listening to Maggie tell him about her day and willed his eyes to open. He’d been hearing her for days now telling him to fight, to not give up. He been trying to he really had. This time it worked and his eyes opened. He saw Maggie sitting in a chair beside his bed. Her fingers were linked with his. Her head was down on her hand where her elbow rested on her knee. He wanted to see her beautiful face. He tried to open his mouth to talk but nothing happened. He squeezed her hand and her head shot up and looked back at him. She jumped up from the chair and sat on the edge of his bed looking down at him with tears coursing down her cheeks and a huge smile on her face, for him. Just for him. 

“There you are…… I knew you’d fight. You’re going to be okay.” He pulled his hand from hers and laid his palm on her belly. She looked down at it then back up to him. She smiled again and laid her hand on top of his. She nodded her head yes.

“The baby is fine too Jared. You saved both of us, just like you said you would.” His tears ran down into his hairline with his relief. He just stared into her eyes. She knew what he needed to hear. She placed her hands on either side of his face.

“I forgive you Jared. I forgive you for everything. All the Saviors think you’re dead. Welcome home Jared. Welcome home.”


End file.
